Chapter 13
Henry lifted his head to stare at Maia. There was nothing childlike about her. She was mature with hidden depths. Right now, his cock throbbed, his body onboard with taking this to the logical conclusion.
Without warning, thoughts of Jenny bombarded him, and Henry wavered. He couldn’t tell Maia about mates. Not yet. He and Jenny had jumped into their physical relationship. He hadn’t had time to tell her they were mates before her ex-husband had murdered her.
And he’d ached ever since, a part of him missing until Maia’s return to Middlemarch.
He wanted to go slow this time if only to protect his heart.
Maia bit his earlobe. “If this is you having second thoughts, think again. We will strip to bare skin and share our bodies, and you will enjoy yourself. Hear me?”
Henry fingered his abused ear and scowled.
Maia bore a determined expression, and he understood there was no stopping this train before they had sex.
Made love. It would be making love to his mate.
No going back after this step. Jenny flitted through his mind again as he remembered the completeness.
His wolf took that moment to whine and remind him of how great it was being with the one person who fulfilled them.
It was true. He recalled the emotions and the protectiveness he’d felt.
But along with that had come anguish when he’d lost Jenny.
It had felt as if someone had ripped out his heart.
He’d barely functioned. He mightn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for his friends and dad.
The truth—Maia terrified him, or rather, the idea of accepting and losing her. He didn’t think he could repeat the experience and survive.
But his wolf made stepping back and moving stealthily challenging, preferring to leap into the future. What if he lost Maia? While she seemed definite that she wanted him, that age difference came into play. He aged more slowly than a human.
Hell, that age thing again.
His wolf growled a low, menacing rumble that signaled Henry exactly what his wild half desired.
Maia.
“Henry!” Maia snapped.
Henry started, his gaze snapping to Maia’s bright blue eyes. “What?”
“Sex, remember? Have you forgotten what to do? Do you need one of my manuals?”
He scowled, and when her grin widened to mocking, he stopped it dead by kissing her. He grasped her T-shirt and ripped it off without pause.
“That was unexpected. What other moves do you have?”
Henry let his wolf’s growl rumble up his throat. He didn’t say anything else but ran his gaze down her body, and when he noted the pair of lacy panties she wore, he ripped those off, too.
“Next time, remind me to remove my clothes before bed. You’re hard on apparel.”
“You’re assuming there will be a next time. I might decide I don’t like a lover overseeing me.”
“Huh, it seems you require direction since nothing is happening. You’re running hot and cold. Very confusing.”
His wolf growled at her challenge, and indignation filled Henry. “We met half a minute ago. Maybe I like to savor every moment.”
Her blue eyes gleamed with intelligence and humor, and she opened that luscious mouth to spout more wisdom, another complaint, or dig at his masculinity. Henry stopped her words before they formed. He kissed her and squeezed her nipple, giving her a sharp jolt of pain.
“Oh!”
Satisfied by her reaction, he lifted his mouth momentarily and, when she didn’t complain, settled in to taste her. His hands wandered and smoothed over her bare hip. Each kiss and touch had satisfaction roaring through him. Part of this was his wolf, but a decent slice came from his human side.
Maia was all curves and tan skin. Her breasts were paler, and they filled his hands. He could feel the muscles in her arms and legs, yet she was sleek, and they fit together perfectly.
Henry set about learning what she enjoyed most. He started with her breasts, kissing and exploring with his tongue, tasting her flesh.
Her fingernails dug into his shoulder blades, and she wasn’t careful about it as she arched against him.
He’d wear the marks from her touch for several hours, which gave him tremendous satisfaction.
He adjusted their bodies until the bulge of his cock lined up with her clit.
Feminine arousal dampened his boxer briefs, the spicy scent of her thrilling him.
He groaned when she kissed his neck and dragged her nails down his back.
He thrust against her, letting her feel the drag against the heart of her.
“Yes,” she murmured.
But he wasn’t ready for that yet.
He moved down her body, kissing, nipping, and using his tongue in random order. Her legs parted for him, and he lifted her, setting his mouth on her sex and sucking. She bucked, crying out at the direct stimulation.
“You taste amazing.” He stared up at her and knew she’d see his wolf. His eyes would appear more amber than brown, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He placed a lazy kiss on her inner thigh and used his tongue to tease her and stoke her need higher.
She trembled, her legs tightening around his shoulders, her hips lifting into his touch in a silent plea. He didn’t try to extend her pleasure. Not this time when desperation roared through him. He fluttered his tongue against her swollen flesh, her groan the sweetest music.
Maia came apart, her body tensing and bucking as his touch became too much for her. Henry gentled his contact and watched the color rise up her throat and the relaxed pleasure of her expression, snatching every moment in his visual camera to remember later.
He’d given in to her, but a tiny part of him felt manipulated—by his wolf and this marvelous miracle of a woman who was his mate. He’d been fortunate to have a second chance, and this was not the moment to thumb his nose at this gift.
Henry valued her honesty and wished he had the same backbone. He should have told her about his otherness but hesitated when their relationship was beginning and so much else was happening in her life.
A new career. A new home. A new relationship.
Maia opened her eyes, and he sucked in his breath on seeing the vibrant blue.
She glowed with inner beauty, and again, he couldn’t believe his luck in finding another mate.
Some men went through life never finding their perfect fit.
Most settled and were happy enough with their life, their wife, and the children who came along.
He rose up her body and kissed her deeply before sliding into her body with one seamless thrust. “Heaven,” he murmured against her ear.
“You’re not wearing a condom.”
Henry froze, his horrified curse ringing out. “Fuck, Maia. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think.”
“As long as you’re clean, we’re good,” she said, her gaze searching his. “I’m on the Pill.”
With devastation still reverberating, Henry blurted out his closely guarded secret. “I haven’t had sex with anything but my hand for years.”
“What?” Now she sounded uneasy, and he thought disbelief echoed in her startled question.
But it was the truth. After Jenny had died, his happiness snatched away, he’d fallen into depression, and it had taken him months, hell, years to gather the strewn pieces of his life. Something else he should’ve told Maia.
“Why?” It was a sharp demand for information.
“My girlfriend was murdered, and it destroyed me, especially since the local cops decided I was the culprit. And now, someone is trying to hurt you, and it’s hard.” He went for the simple truth without giving too many details.
“Murdered! How long ago was this?”
“It was before you came to Middlemarch to stay with your aunt.”
“I see.”
Henry doubted that. Not in a million years would she understand why he’d kept away from the opposite sex.
At first, it was because he was mourning for Jenny, and after he’d met—a tepid word for the way Maia had exploded into his life—he hadn’t wanted another woman.
His wolf had wanted Maia and that couldn’t happen when she’d been a child.
Hell, the idea was repulsive and had messed up his head for ages.
Henry snorted. He wasn’t sure he had his head on straight yet.
How could it be when he was balls-deep in Maia?
“You will explain more fully tomorrow. Right now, I’m permitting you to continue. One orgasm is not enough.”
“Greedy.”
“Demanding. I want to make sure you deliver.”
Henry leaned down to kiss her, smiling against her lips. This woman challenged him, and he liked it.
“Start moving, Henry, before I go insane. I need to feel that magic again.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She rolled her eyes and kissed his neck, using her teeth to show her displeasure at the ma’am part of his compliance. He jolted, his wolf’s yip of pleased approval echoing through his mind. Sassy mate. His animal half adored her cheek and demanding ways.
Henry pulled back before surging into her clinging warm heat again. Sweet heaven.
“That’s better,” she purred. “Much better. I heartily approve of a man who can take direction.”
Henry laughed, his chuckle loud and carefree. “You’ll be the death of me, sweetheart.”
“Sweetheart. I like that one much better than ma’am. And really, you’re complaining because I tell you what I want? You should give me hints so we have a fantastic time together every session.”
Henry spluttered out another laugh, then groaned when she tightened her inner muscles around his shaft. “Too much of that, and I won’t last.” The truth—he was dangling by a thread now.
“No problem. You won’t leave me hanging because you’ve got skills.” She purred the words and lifted into his stroke, her eyes closed and her expression serene.
Henry’s smooth thrusts faltered while he tried to control the laugh threatening to burst from him. “I can tell you’re going to be a handful.”
“Most men like a challenge.”
It made Henry think of her past lovers, which was dickish because he’d had other lovers before Jenny. “I can see that the only way to shut you up is to kiss and keep you busy until you’re incapable of speaking.”
Her huh! got trapped against his lips as he increased the pace, rocking into her with intent.
Her flesh tightened, and seconds later, she exploded, her scream of enjoyment almost deafening.
Henry grinned, taking that as permission to seize his pleasure.
He pulled back and plunged into her decadent warmth, his entire body shuddering as he lost control and nipped her neck, her groan dragging his common sense back.
He smoothed the mark he’d inflicted on her with his tongue, thankful he hadn’t bitten her too deeply.
God, he had no control around her. Zilch.
Henry tried to slow, but he was past any semblance of humanity. He and his wolf were on the same page. They wanted to dominate her and seize the pleasure Henry had denied them because Jenny’s death had changed him.
He thrust and rocked and let the sensations build while enjoying her floral scent and his as they combined. Her smooth skin beneath his fingertips enthralled him, and her snug grip…
He exploded before he could finish that thought, pouring himself into her.
His heart thumped, his breath coming in heavy pants as if he’d been running for hours.
Aware he was crushing her, he turned their bodies so she lay atop him.
Their closeness was perfect—his wolf demanded it, so he allowed his animal half his way because he enjoyed this lazy, pliant Maia.
Her breasts flattened against his chest, and this gave him the opportunity for more touching.
He ran his hand down her spine and let it come to rest on her rounded arse.
“Nice,” she murmured. “I bet you’d give a great massage.”
“I’ve never given anyone a massage,” he said, surprised.
“It will be a first, then. Excellent.” Maia sounded sleepy, but he didn’t mind if she drifted off. He was supremely comfortable with her in his arms and was content to savor this moment.
The other stuff would need to wait.
He’d made love to her now, and there was no way in hell he could give her up. She was his mate, and soon, she’d understand all this entailed.